The present invention relates to a portable sportsman seating apparatus and more particularly to a portable sportsman seating apparatus which provides a seat, shelter, flotation device, heat, and light for the sportsman using the seating apparatus.
Outdoor cold weather sports and recreation such as ice fishing and spearing, game hunting and exploration and travel, both on foot and by snowmobile, have grown in activity in recent years. When an outdoor sportsman travels to a remote location and selects a site, the sportsman is on many occasions in inclement weather and exposed to the elements, such as cold, snow, ice, and winds. To improve the comfort and chances of success of the sportsman, it is desirable to provide a portable sportsman seating apparatus which provides a seat, shelter, flotation device, heat, and light for the sportsman at that location.
Since the sportsman is usually going to remote locations, it is desirable that the portable seating apparatus be easily transportable both by vehicle, to get to the sporting grounds, and manually over rugged terrain to get to the remote sporting site. During the transport of the portable sportsman seating apparatus to the remote site, it is desirable that all of the components of the apparatus be compactly secured in the seat and that the seat provide additional space for transporting other sporting equipment, so as to allow more mobility to the sportsman when moving to his sporting site.
For example, ice fishermen transport their equipment by vehicle to the body of water that they will fish and then manually take their equipment after arriving at that site across the ice to a ice fishing site of their choice. To allow for manual transport, it is desirable for a portable seating apparatus to be movable on skis or runners or the like. To provide a transportable seating apparatus, it is also desirable that the seating apparatus be light in weight and compact in size.
When traveling to a remote sporting site and staying at that site, the sportsman will at times be on ice. If the ice breaks, it is desirable that a flotation device be readily available to save the sportsman from submerging in water.
In many instances the outdoor sportsman travels alone and others are not available to assist him in setting up at his remote site. It is desirable that the construction and dismantling of the seating apparatus require only one person. Since the sportsman is exposed to the elements when erecting, constructing or dismantling or collapsing the shelter and otherwise setting up on the site, it is desirable that the setting up of the seat or dismantling of the seat be accomplished in a minimum amount of time. It is desirable that the seat be capable of relatively rapid erection or dismantling.
When the sportsman sets up at his selected location, it is desirable to provide a shelter above the seat to protect the sportsman from the adverse elements. It is also desirable that such a shelter be collapsible and light in weight to allow ease of transport.
After the sportsman sets up at his location, it is desirable to provide a source of light and heat to the sportsman. For example, an ice fisherman fishes during times of low ambient light conditions and a source of light allows the sportsman to fish more effectively.
Since ice fishing is also conducted in inclement weather conditions, it is desirable that heat be provided in a manner that will minimize the effect of the inclement weather on the comfort of the sportsman. It is desirable that a portion of the heat be retained by the collapsible shelter to provide an improved ambient temperature in the shelter. It is also desirable for an ice fisherman to have heat supplied to the location that his hands will be in since this is an area of the body that gets cold quickly when ice fishing.
Even after setting up at a site, it is desirable to be able to easily move from one site to the other. For example, experienced ice fisherman prefer to cover a lot of ice and drill a lot of holes to find fish because the fish may move. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a seating apparatus which after erection at one particular ice hole can be readily moved from ice hole to ice hole and thereby maximize the effectiveness of the ice fisherman.
On occasion, the portable seating apparatus may be used in comfortable ambient temperatures. In such a case, the shelter is not necessary and may be removed and stored in the seat during use of the seat. The portable seating apparatus may also be used for observing winter spectator activities.